The Avengers as teenagers
by I-Am-a-MoOsE
Summary: The avengers tackle the ups and downs of youth
1. Chapter 1

he Avengers attend High School. Note: this is based before the Avengers started – Before they became superheroes, really. Thor is not in this as he is a god, and I doubt he'd sit through an hour and ten minutes of Maths. Or Steve Rogers, as he is still in the forties.

This is a mix between the actual comic books and the movies.

1997

The bell rang, a signal that Registration was over. Clint Barton left the room, his two closet friends at his side.

'What have we got?' Richard said. Clint shrugged.

Gerard, as always, had the answer. 'Biology.'

They'd only recently gotten their new timetables, and only one of the trio had bothered looking at it.

Luckily, their Regi classroom was on the same floor as the Science department. They only had to walk a few feet to get to their location. There was a large crowd around the door when the trio got there, though.

'Move it, Banner,' a boy shouted. A boy who Clint recognized as Tony Stark. Tony's dad was a multi-billionaire, and the so-called-genius behind Stark Industries. It was rumored that Tony was already helping his dad make weapons. Clint managed to squeeze through the crowd to see Bruce Banner, crouched down on the floor, scooping up sheets of paper in his hands.

Clint noticed that no one was helping.

Bruce finished cleaning up the mess, stood up abruptly, blushing, and darted over to his seat by the other side of the room.

Bruce stuffed his papers into his bag as he sat down. The rest of his table joined him. One of which was one of his friends, another Tony Stark, and the third a girl who Bruce had never seen before.

The girl sat down beside him. Bruce felt his face flush.

Bruce's friend, Barry Baxter, leaned in and whispered, 'Who's she?'

Bruce shrugged, glancing at the new comer out of the corner of his eye. He felt obliged to say something to her, but Tony got there before he did.

'So, you new here?' He said, in his usual cocky tone.

She raised her eyebrows. 'Yeah,' she said, leaning towards Tony. Barry Baxter mimed being sick. Bruce pretended to laugh.

'Maybe I could show you around,' Tony offered.

She smiled. 'I'm sure I can find my own way.'

Tony's hand crept forward. The girl grabbed him by the wrist and twisted his arm backwards. Tony let out a yelp of pain.

'I'm here to learn science, not Mother care, dickhead,' she said, adding the last statement in a whisper.

'What school did you come from?' Barry said.

'I never went to school,' she said.

'You do know that this is advanced Biology, you might struggle if you're telling the truth,' Barry said.

'I'll manage.'

Bruce finally plucked up the courage to speak to the mysterious girl. 'What's your name?'

'Natasha Romenhoff,' she said.

'Romenhoff,' Bruce echoed. 'That's Russian, isn't it?'

The teacher walked in before she could reply.

'Today we're going to be studying Gamma Radiation and the effects it has on the human body,' Mr Clark said, clapping his hands together and looking around his class. He turned to write something on the board, and the class broke into conversation as soon as he'd done so.

'I've been to Russia,' Tony said, trying to get the Red Heads attention. Unfortunately for him, she was giving it to Bruce Banner.

'You ever been?' She said to Bruce, ignoring Tony.

'Uh, no. I don't, er, travel much,' he said quietly, his brown eyes darting about the room uncomfortably.

'How come?' Natasha asked.

'I, um, can't afford it,' Bruce replied. Tony snorted.

Natasha glared at him.

'I hear it's a lovely country, though,' Bruce said.

'QUIET DOWN, CLASS,' the teacher boomed. 'Please turn to page 319, read the text and answer the questions. Write a few of your own when you're down. Mr. Barton, would you please move over to Bruce's table? Maybe that will shut you up. I doubt it, but I'm willing to try it.'

The class all went 'Oooh', with a few 'Burn, mate'. Clint begrudgingly got up from his seat and tramped over to Bruce's table. He sat down with a sigh.

'Aren't we a happy bunch?' Clint said, seeing all of the groups blank faces. He looked to Natasha. 'Hey, newbie.'

'Look -'

'You're gonna give me that you're-a-strong-confident-female-who-could-easily- take-me-down-in-a-fight crap, aren't you? You look like that kinda person.'

Natasha looked startled. 'You're quick to judge.'

'I prefer the term 'observant'.'

'Don't try and kid yourself.'

'If you're trying to make friends, you aren't doing a very good job of it,' Clint said with a sly wink.

'I don't need friends.'

'Yes, Bruce said, 'but you _need_ to do your work.'

'Shut it, nerd,' Tony snapped.

'I'm just say-'

'Well, don't.'

Bruce took a deep breath and began reading the text on Gamma Radiation. He could still feel Tony's eyes, glaring at him.

'Bruce is right,' Natasha said quickly. 'We have to do our work.'

'Look, Brucy,' Tony mocked, 'you found yourself a nerdy little girlfriend, just like you.'

Clint smacked Tony's arm. 'Quit it, Stark.'

'Oh, yeah. What you gonna do? Observe me? Should we start calling you _Hawkeye?'_ Tony jeered. At that moment, Clint grabbed Tony's arm, pulled it over his head and flipped him over onto the table. Tony lay there, breathless. The whole class stared in awe. The teacher came rushing over, yelling his head off.

'How did you do that?' Bruce rasped.

Clint shrugged. 'I grew up in a circus.'

Clint was dragged away at that moment by Mr. Clark, who was still yelling his head off.

'Finally,' Bruce heard someone say, 'someone taught that dick a lesson.'

Tony claimed that he didn't need to go to the nurse. But he was badly bruised and now had a slight limp. He was forced.

And Bruce had to go with him.

'You deserved that,' Bruce stated.

Tony glared at him. 'Did anyone ask you?'

'You think yourself above everyone else, don't you?'

'Yeah, well obviously,' Tony said, smirking.

Bruce sighed. 'One day, you might grow out of this cocky phrase. But that day will honestly have to be drastic.'

'_My_ life is planned out for me,' Tony said. 'I'll take over my dads work, sleep with a thousand women, get put in prison a couple of times, make enemies and get murdered in a alleyway by a poor guy who wants my wallet.'

'Some life,' Bruce said.

'And what? You'll be living the dream?'

'If I become a scientist, then yeah. I will be.'

'What a Dork.'

'Dork is actually the biological term for Whales penis,' Bruce told him, then quickly regretted that fact.

Luckily, Tony laughed. 'You think I don't know that? You must take me for an idiot.'

'You certainly act it,' Bruce muttered.

They had gotten to the nurses office by that point. Bruce had hoped that he could leave now – he really wanted to read about Gamma Radiation – but Tony forced him to stay.

He had to sit through half-an-hour of X-rays, scans and Tony's moaning. By the time he returned, the lesson only had five minutes left. Clint wasn't back yet.

_Probably been expelled or something, _Bruce thought to himself. Natasha and Barry were sitting at the table, still discussing what had just happened.

'Did I miss anything?' he said, sitting down at his seat.

Barry shook his head. 'You are the life and soul of the party, Banner. How could anything interesting happen without you here?'

'I meant in the actual learning part of the lesson,' Bruce said.

Barry extended his hands towards him in alarm. 'See, Tasha, see how spontaneous and unpredictable he is?'

'Don't call me Tasha,' Natasha said, but she was smiling. Barry smiled back.

'Uh,' Bruce said, feeling like he was intruding in on a strangers conversation, 'where's Clint.'

'Headmasters,' Barry said, not taking his eyes of Natasha.

Natasha turned to Bruce, and Bruce saw a flicker of annoyance behind Barry's eyes. 'Is Tony OK?'

'Uh, bruised, but alive. Clint gave him quite a fright, I guess,' Bruce said.

'He did a triple zuelex. Of course it gave him a fright,' Natasha exclaimed.

Bruce and Barry exchanged a glance.

'I thought that was a tampon,' Barry said.

Natasha laughed. 'You're thinking of Durex – and that's a condom.'

'Isn't that a tissue?' Bruce said.

At that point, the bell went. Natasha had a free period next, so she didn't rush out of the classroom like Bruce and Barry did. She laughed silently to herself. She had a habit of leading nerds along, and Barry had been caught. Hook, line and sinker.

It wasn't that she liked hurting them.

She just mildly enjoyed it.

She took her textbook, still opened on the Gamma Radiation page – still unread. She found herself resolving this issue in the library. As much as she hated to admit, it _was_ interesting! The theory about how Gamma could cure illnesses. Nobody was willing to try it out on an actual human being, though; but the hypothesis and tests had proved that it _would_ work. Maybe, she thought, I could try out an experiment. Get Barry to help, too.


	2. Chapter 2

Clint was finally allowed to leave the Headmasters office, after three hours of tedious interrogation.

Howard Stark, Tony's father, had been called in. He was the reason that Clint hadn't been expelled.

'Antonio needed a lesson like that,' Mr. Stark said. 'He's cocky, arrogant and irresponsible.'

'His spinal cord has been bruised, Mr. Stark,' the headmaster had pointed out weakly.

'Good,' Mr. Stark said with a huff.

Case closed.

Clint looked at the clock. It was lunchtime. He might as well go look for Tony and apologize (Not that he wanted to, of course).

Natasha Romenhoff scurried down the hall, chasing after Barry Baxter.

'Barry,' she called, panting heavily.

'Hey, Tasha,' Barry said. Bruce was with him, getting something out of his locker.

'I was reading about Gamma Radiation, and I was wondering if you wanted to try out an experiment with me.'

Barry's face lit up. 'Sure, I'd love to.'

Natasha smiled.

'But, I'm awful at experiments,' Barry confessed.

'I'm sure it doesn't matter. It's quite important and I'd love it if you'd help me.'

Barry gave her an apologetic look. This was a look she was not used to being given.

'Banner could help. He's a total whiz at science. Knows everything,' Barry said, jerking a thumb towards his friend. Bruce turned to face the couple at the mention of his name.

'Sorry, I know nothing about Gamma,' he said.

Barry thumped him on the back. 'What are you saying. I've seen your work – you're an expert on it.'

Bruce blushed. 'I was interested in the medical theory.'

'About Gamma curing illnesses?' Natasha said.

Bruce nodded. 'Is that your experiment?'

'Yeah,' Natasha said.

'Isn't that a bit dangerous?' Bruce said with an arched brow.

'C'mon, Banner. Do this for me – don't let Tasha down here,' Barry moaned.

Bruce sighed. 'Fine. But I am NOT your lab rat.'

Natasha nodded. This was great. Barry would get jealous with her spending time with Bruce Banner and she'd have him right 'round her little finger in no time.

'Be at mine on Friday, after school. Bring your science stuff if you have it,' she said, before flouncing off with a flick of her scarlet hair.

'What'd you do that for?' Bruce cried as soon as she was out of earshot.

'I thought maybe you could talk me up a bit – wingman style,' Barry countered.

'I can't do an experiment with her. She knows zilch about science, and besides; this is really dangerous for two teenagers to try.'

'You're Bruce Banner, smartest guy in the school,' Barry shot back. 'It'll look great on your C.V if you find a way to cure terminal illnesses and cancer.'

Bruce laughed. 'You owe me.'

At that moment, Tony Stark came swaggering down the corridor.

Barry rolled his eyes. 'What a show off. Milk his wounds for the teachers, milk them for the girls, and swagger for the guys.'

'Lucky us guys, then,' Bruce joked.

'Bruce Banner,' Tony yelled down the hall. 'Banner.'

Bruce buried his head in his hand. 'What the hell does he want?'

'He's seen you,' Barry said, before sneaking off down the hall.

'Alright, Banner?' Tony said. 'I read your paper on cell mutations – unparalleled.'

'Uh, thanks,' Bruce said, looking towards the ground. 'What do you want, Stark?'

'My dad has asked me to find a 'role model'. And I chose you as my mentor,' Tony said.

'You're seventeen – nearly eighteen – why do you need a babysitter?'

Tony sighed heavily. 'You are not my _babysitter, _Banner. I'm being forced to idolize you. My house, eight. Be there or I sue your parents, or guardians. Your parents are dead, right?'

Bruce nodded. 'I'm adopted.'

'Knew it.'

'Do I have to come.'

'Yes.'

'No loop holes are there?'

'I will make you homeless.'

'Fine, I'll come.'

Starks home was truly amazing, compared to the shoebox that Banner lived in at home. Five floors of modern and expensive wonder.

Bruce walked wearily up to the door, knocked twice and stood back. A man, balding and well into his fifties, opened the door.

'Uh, hi. Are you Tony's dad?' Bruce said.

The man chuckled. 'Antonio's father? I'm sorry son, I'm just the butler.'

'Butler? Christ,' Bruce muttered. The man led Bruce into the foyer. He asked Bruce to wait while he fetched Tony. Bruce felt awkward, alone in the room. Everything looked so fragile. A minute later, Tony walked into the room, dressed in a Black Sabbath t-shirt and jeans.

'Come,' he said, walking past Banner and up the stairs. Bruce followed suit.

'I'm still not sure why I have to come to your home to mentor you,' Bruce admitted.

'I want to show you something. You're gonna love it. Totally up your street,' Tony said.

'Quantum physics?' Bruce said hopefully.

'Uh, something like that,' Tony said vaguely, leading Bruce down another winding corridor. They finally came up to a glass door. Tony typed in a code and the glass slid back. He walked in. Bruce followed.

It was a workroom. Scrap metal was all over the place, tools and more next to them.

'I've been working on this for a while – it's just the prototype, though.' He pressed another button and a case began to rise from the floor. It looked like a trophy cabinet, except there was a large metal suit in it instead of a trophy.

'What the hell is that?' Bruce gasped.

'My suit. Made of pure gold titanium alloy. Except the reactor – the blue bit on the chest – that's made of vibranium.'

'How did you get hold of that? Wakonda is the only place that makes it.'

'My dad gets sent vibranium now and then from the Black Panther.'

'Who?'

'He's the king of Wakonda.'

Bruce took a moment to admire the suit. 'What does it do?'

Tony just smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

Natasha Romenhoff was waiting outside the school gates for Barry, when Clint Barton came running towards her.

'Hey, Nat,' he said.

'What do you want, Hawkeye?'

'I see you've taken to copying Stark. Besides, the names beginning to grow on me,' Clint said with a smirk. 'Clint Barton, a.k.a Hawkeye. Secret agent.'

'Like any agency would let you in,' Natasha sneered.

'You haven't seen me shoot then,' he said, still smirking.

'What? Guns?'

'God no,' Clint exclaimed. 'To mainstream – I use a bow.'

Natasha let out a snort. 'You're kidding me, right?'

Clint wiped the smile off his face. 'Deadly serious. Like you, you're like a spider. Sneaky and deadly.'

'A Black Widow,' she joked.

'Hawkeye and Black Widow, partners in crime,' Clint said, using his hands to exaggerate his point.

'You wish,' She said, though she was grinning from ear to ear.

'I would outshine you. And then you'd try to kill me,' Clint said with a dramatic sigh. Natasha leaned in closer.

'A slow and torturous death,' she hissed. Then she grabbed him in a headlock, pulling him down. Clint grabbed her wrists and pulled her down to the ground over his back. She flipped back up to her feet, sending a flying kick towards Clint. He attempted to grab her foot and pull her down. But she was to fast and he was thrown off his feet. He chuckled, pulling himself up from the floor.

'You're gonna have to teach me how you got up like that,' Clint said, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

'You fight well. But you'd be killed within a week if you took to the streets like that.'

'And what makes you such an expert?'

'I'm Russian.'

'Ah, of course. My bad ... Who were you waiting on?'

Natasha felt her face flush. It didn't help that at that point, Barry came out of the school.

Clint's smile faded. 'Oh.'

'Hey Clint, Tasha. What're you guys doing here?' Barry said.

Both Clint and Natasha looked away awkwardly.

'Is everything OK?' Barry asked. 'Did someone get hurt?'

Natasha shook her head and smiled. 'No, don't worry; it's nothing like that,' she said, but her eyes were on Clint. He pretended not to notice.

Barry let out a comic sigh of relief. 'I should get going. Are you walking down the hill, Tasha?'

She nodded. 'I'll walk with you. Bye, Clint.'

She walked off down the street, Barry at her side.

Clint Barton made for his bow as soon as he got home. He trotted down to the garden to set up the targets. He let an arrow loose. Bullseye. Again. Bullseye. Another flew through the air. Bullseye. And again and again. Bullseye, bullseye, bullseye. He set up harder targets. But they were still to easy. He sighed, throwing his bow to the ground. He decided to practice his knife throwing skills – he needed to improve on them. He tied a blindfold around his eyes and unsheathed the knifes. He sent them flying through the air, one after another. After he ran out of knives, he pulled his blindfold off. Nine out of Ten. He sighed; he was getting sloppy One of the knives had gotten lodged in the shed wall. He walked over to it and pulled it out, sighing as he did so. He sheathed his knives and retrieved his bow and arrow.

He just wasn't in the mood.

Tony Stark had just finished putting the last piece of his suit on. He turned to show it to Bruce Banner.

He seemed a bit lost.

'Are you OK?' Tony said, his voice echoing around his suit.

'What? I can't hear you in that thing,' Banner yellled, cupping his ear.

'I said Are you OK?' Tony yelled back.

'Yeah,' Bruce said, nodding. 'I like your suit thing.'

'This is just the prototype,' Tony admitted, taking his helmet off. 'The real one is gonna have lasers.'

Bruce smiled. He sounded like a child in a toy store. Sadly, as Bruce knew, Tony _was_ being serious.

'How are you gonna do that?'

'I'm a weapons manufacturer – it's what I do.'

'You make nukes and missiles – not robots,' Bruce pointed out, waving a pen in the air.

'This, my dear friend, is not a robot. I will be inside of it, controlling it with AI I've been working on.'

'Artificial Intelligence?' Bruce said, confused.

'I call him – JARVIS,' Tony exclaimed.

'Good afternoon, sir. How may I help?' A electronic, English voice said, coming from, well, everywhere.

'How did you manage that?' Bruce gasped. He was beginning to sound like a kid at the circus.

'I just programmed it with my brain waves, but with more morals than me,' he replied with a smirk.

Bruce examined Tony's workspace. At that moment, Tony's dad, Howard Stark, came into the room.

He smiled when he saw Bruce. 'You must be Bruce Banner – I'm Tony's dad, I'm the one that chose you to mentor Tony for me,' he admitted, extending his hand.

Bruce shook it. 'Well, it's nice to meet you. I've read a lot a lot of your work.'

Howard Stark beamed proudly. 'Glad to hear. You did understand them, did you not?'

'Of course,' Bruce exclaimed.

Howard Stark chuckled. 'Okay, I'll leave you two to it.'

He left the room. Tony sighed heavily.

'He's such a pain,' he moaned.

'He seemed nice,' Bruce said.

Tony looked up. 'Only because you're such a little know-it-all.'

Bruce laughed spitefully. 'Coming from you - You can make your house talk, and you created a robot!'

'Again, not a robot,' Tony corrected him. 'My dad can't know about all that, though. He'll think it a waste of time.'

'It's amazing, Tony. You should be proud of this,' Bruce stated.

'Yeah, well. I've got better things to do with my time,' He said.

Bruce raised his eyebrows. 'What, like sleep with a thousand women and get stabbed.'

Tony didn't reply.

Bruce stayed a while longer, before admitting that he had to get back. He said he had to prepare for an experiment of some kind – Tony hadn't been listening.


	4. Chapter 4

Natasha Romenhoff had spent the whole evening setting up the experiment for the next day. When that day came, it was all ready. Bruce came at five, carrying a bag filled with equipment. He set his stuff up on the table, placed a set of safety goggles on his head and a pair of latex gloves.

'So, hows this gonna work?' Bruce Banner asked.

'We're gonna work on an antidote, then cut ourselves and test it out.

Bruce's face tensed up. 'Uh, okay,' he said, practically forcing the words out. 'Where did you get the Gamma?'

'I know a guy.'

'On such short notice?'

'We gonna do this or not?'

Bruce nodded. 'Of course. Yes, lets get started.'

They spent a three whole months working on the antidote. With school, home, homework and exams, they'd made it in record time.

'Are you sure this will be safe?' Bruce said, holding the knife up to his arm.

Natasha nodded. 'I did not waste three months just to die. Trust me.'

2013

'Whoah, whoah, woah,' Steve Rogers said. 'Natasha, _you're _the reason Banner goes all hulky when he loses control?'

Natasha huffed, folding her arms. 'I'm not taking the blame.'

'Actually, it was my dads fault,' Bruce said. 'He tested on himself and it was passed down to me through his DNA. The accident just activated it.'

'I never released you were so young when it happened,' Steve said.

'Silence, Mortals,' Thor boomed. 'I'd care hear the end of this tale.'

Bruce sighed. 'Fine. Okay, we were about to activate the antidote, when, well, it blew up ...'

1997

'I really hate blood, though,' Bruce admitted.

'You're such a woss, Banner. Be a man, cut yourself,' Natasha snapped. She'd already done it herself, and blood was pouring down her arm. Bruce drew the knife, screaming out instantly.

Natasha rolled her eyes, smiling. She strutted over to the computer. 'You go first, Banner, you look like you're about to pass out anyway.'

Bruce nodded, inserting his arm into the glass case through a tight hole.

'Releasing the nanomedes,' Natasha said. A pale gas began to fill up the case. A tingling sensation began to tickle at Bruce's arm.

'Releasing the Gamma,' Natasha said.

The last thing Bruce saw was a blinding light.

Bruce Banner woke up in the hospital a few days later. His room was empty, except for a few cards by his bedside table. Well, one card and a letter. He read the card first. It was from his parents, of course. It didn't say much, just how much they loved him – stuff like that. The letter, which intrigued Bruce the most, was from Natasha.

_Dearest Bruce._

_First of all, I'd like to apologize. This was all my fault – It was my idea and I forced you to do it._

_I'm fine. You got the worst of it, though. Please forgive me._

_Love, Natasha._

2013

'It did not say that,' Natasha cried. 'Quit lying, Banner.'

Bruce smirked. 'It should have.'

'What did it say?' Clint Barton asked.

'Dear Bruce: Your fault. Love, Natasha,' Bruce said, laughing.

'Seriously, what did it say,' Tony ordered.

'I am being serious; that's what she wrote.'

'You're kidding?'

'God, Natasha – You're mean.'

'Just get back to the point, Banner,' Natasha snapped.

'I put the heartfelt letter back on the table and went looking for any nurses to explain to me what had happened ...'

1997

Bruce had managed to find a few nurses, but they had instantly forced him back to his room. He'd demanded to see his parents.

They'd drugged him.

When he regained consciousness, his parents were both beside his bed.

'Hey, Bruce,' His mum said, hugging him tightly.

'What happened?' Bruce said, still groggy from the drugs.

Bruce's dad leaned in, hugged him, then leaned back and sighed. 'You've been exposed to Gamma Radiation – You're gonna live, though. Luckily. All your tests are fine, remarkable even. It's truly outstanding, I've never seen anything like it.'

Bruce's dad was a scientist, as was his mother.

'Bruce,' his mum said. 'What happened? Why were you working with Gamma Radiation with a girl you barely know?'

'We were looking at the theory of Gamma curing illnesses,' Bruce explained. 'We thought maybe nanomedes would be the answer.'

'Bruce, we've tested it thousands of times – Gamma doesn't work. The world of science has moved on.'

'Maybe you're not trying to right things,' Bruce shot back. At that moment, two nurses walked into the room.

'We just need to take some blood samples, you can stay if you want,' one of them said.

Bruce's dad shook his head. 'We should give you some space.'

His parents waved to him, nodded to the nurses, then left the room.

'This might hurt a little,' the nurse said, holding up a needle. She took Bruce's right arm.

'Wait – can you do the other arm. I cut this one,' he said.

The nurse looked at him with a confused expression. 'It seems fine.'

Bruce looked at his arm, where he'd drawn the blade across his skin, where a large gash should be.

There was nothing.


	5. Chapter 5

Tony Stark had not failed to notice Bruce Banners absence. He seemed to be the only one who had, actually. Even Barry Baxter, Bruce's closest friend, hadn't noticed. But, then again, he was to busy with Natasha Romenhoff to notice Human extinction. It was rumored that Bruce had been in an accident.

Car Crash.

Abduction.

Murder.

Mugged.

But the most famous was that he'd run away to join the circus.

Stark didn't believe any of them. He'd gone looking for Natasha, hoping that she could explain (It was also rumored that Natasha had been there, and that she'd killed Banner), but she'd just shut the door in his face. He'd been to his house, but it had been empty. After a while, he'd gotten bored of the manual work and got JARVIS to do it for him.

'Sir, it appears that Bruce Banner, the man who you are looking for, is at ST Shield hospital,' the AI said. Tony couldn't believe it.

'Does it say why?' He said.

'Bruce Banner, age seventeen has been submitted to St Shield Hospital due to a Gamma Explosion. His test are fine and he appears to be healthier than any other seventeen year old boy there is. They are continuing to run more tests, though.'

'What else does it say?'

'Only that Natasha Romenhoff was submitted the same day as him.'

2013

'Wait – you hacked into the hospitals files to see if I was OK?' Bruce Banner said.

'Yeah,' Tony said, 'what did you expect me to do?'

'Something inside the law, maybe?' Bruce offered.

'Coming from the guy who broke Harlem,' Clint Barton joked.

'Shut up and continue the story,' Steve Rogers ordered.

'Why do you care so much anyway?' Natasha Romenhoff asked.

'I don't know – But I just found out that six of the Avengers attended school together and it never came up till this morning.'

The fifth avenger, who hadn't spoken till now, looked up. 'While I'd admit it was odd, it doesn't affect us now, though.'

The sixth avenger nodded in agrement.

'Steve speaks the truth,' Thor boomed, in his heavenly voice. 'It is truly quite remarkable.'

'Really?' Bruce, Tony, Natasha and Clint all said in unison.

'Get back to the point,' Steve demanded.

'It was about that point when you showed up mine, wasn't it?' Natasha said. 'I was so annoyed at you then ...'

1997

Natasha Romenhoff was not expecting to see Tony Stark at her doorstep at seven AM.

'What the hell, Stark. What do you want?'

'If you shut the door in my face, I will sue you,' he said.

'Whatever you want, hurry up – I have to get ready for school.'

'I want to know what you and Banner were doing with Gamma Radiation,' he said.

Natasha's eyes widened. She stepped outside, shutting the door behind her.

'How do you know about that?' She hissed.

'I got JARVIS to hack into the Hospital computers.'

'Who?'

'JARVIS – Artificial Intelligence. I made him.'

Natasha rubbed her face wearily. 'What do you want to know?'

'All of it.'

Natasha sighed. 'We tried to find a cure for all illnesses – and it, well, literally exploded in our faces. I wasn't in the firing line, Bruce got the whole force of it. They took up both to the hospital. I was let out the next day. I'm assuming he's still there.'

'He's fine, though,' Tony said.

Natasha nodded, but didn't smile. She held out her right arm, though. 'But, well – It worked, Tony.'

Tony looked down at her arm. There was nothing there.

'What am I meant to be looking at?' He said.

'Exactly,' she said proudly.

Tony rolled his eyes. 'You were both idiots – Gamma is dangerous. You both could have died.'

Natasha scoffed. 'Since when did you care about us.'

'Bruce is my friend.'

'One play date and you're besties?'

'At least I have friends.'

'At least I don't threaten them to hang out with me.'

Tony couldn't think of a good comeback to that.

Clint Barton had spent the last twenty minutes perched up a tree, waiting for Barry Baxter.

Ten minutes later, he came.

'Barry!' Clint cried, leaping from the tree and onto the ground in front of Baxter. Baxter screamed loudly. Then noticed that it was only Clint and calmed down nearly instantly.

'Hey, Clint. You gave me a fright,' he said.

'I could tell,' Clint smirked.

'What's up Barton?' Baxter said.

'Just checking up on you. So, hows Natasha?'

Baxter looked startled. 'Uh, why?'

'Curious. Haven't seen her in a while.'

'Same. She doesn't speak to me anymore.'

Clint felt the sides of his mouth curl upwards. 'Sorry to hear that.'

Baxter shrugged. 'She was a bit odd anyway. You know, getting Banner to do that experiment with her.'

'You forced him to do it.'

'He didn't have to say yes.'

'He said no.'

'He didn't talk me up, though.'

'He can barely talk to girls, Baxter.

'Why don't you ask her out?'

Clint's eyes widened. 'What? Where did that come from?'

'You're obviously obsessed with her. You sat in a bloody tree, just so you could grill me on her.'

Clint blushed.

'Ask her out, dude. You can beat each other up all day long,' Baxter said in a sweet-as-honey tone.

Clint shook his head wildly. 'No way.'

'You're right. She'd totally beat you.'

Clint scoffed. 'No way! I'd win – fair and square.'

'Why don't we see. She's coming down the street right now,' Baxter said. Clint looked up.

He was right, she was strutting down the street, her red hair flowing down her back. She saw the two guys and waved. Baxter waved back.

'Hey,' she said, reaching them. 'Hi, Clint.'

'Hey, Nat.'

'Hi, Tasha,'Baxter said.

'What you guys talkin' about?'

'Uh, nothing,' Clint said quickly. 'Just science.

'Oh,' Natasha said. 'What kind?'

'The, uh, red kind.' _What?, _Clint thought._ What the hell was that?_

'I'm not sure I'm familiar with that one,' she joked.

'Yeah, it's new,' Clint said. 'Quite advanced, actually.'

'I bet it is. It sounds interesting,' she said.

'Oh, it its.'

'Maybe we could meet up and you could tell me all about it,' Natasha offered.

Clint felt his face burn red. 'Uh, yeah. T-that would be amazing.' He coughed loudly. 'I mean, totally. Whenever suits you. I'm usually quite busy, though. You know, working out.'

Natasha just stared in confusion. 'What?'

'Nothing. I'll text you or something' he said. 'Bye, Nat.'

'Bye, Clint. Nice speaking to you, Barry.'

After two _months_ of being pierced, stabbed, drugged and tested on, Bruce Banner was finally allowed to leave. He was certainly the center of attention when he got back to school.

'What happened?'

'Where were you?'

'Were you abducted?'

'Did you go to space?'

'The circus?'

'I thought you'd died.'

'Were you on Holiday?'

'Did you see the Northern Lights?'

'The Himalayas?'

'Mt. Fuji?'

'The Eifle Tower?'

'The Eifle Tower sucks. Why would he spend two months there?'

He managed to escape the interrogation from his classmates by hiding in the Boys Changing Rooms.

After a few moments he realized that he was not alone. He could hear a quiet sobbing coming from one of the cubicles.

'Hello?' he called out. The sobbing stopped instantly. Bruce tried calling out again.

No answer. Bruce noticed that one of the cubicle doors was ajar, whereas the rest were opened fully.

He pushed it open fully to see a scrawny boy huddled up on the floor.

'Go away,' the boy muttered. Bruce decided to ignore him. He crouched down beside the boy. He couldn't be any older than fifteen.

'Are you OK?' Bruce asked. The boy replied with a nod.

'What's wrong?' he tried.

'Nothing, now go away,' the boy snapped.

'What's your name?'

The boy looked up, his eyes were red and puffy. 'Hank.'

2013

'Why are you telling them all that!' Hank Pym cried out, face scarlet.

'Because we're telling Thor and Steve every detail of our lives at school,' Bruce explained. 'And you curled up in the changing rooms is a detail of our lives at school.'

'Not to mention it's hilarious,' Janet Van Dyne said. Hank Pym glared at her.

'Why have you two not come up before?' Steve asked.

'We were in the year below them,' Jan explained.

'And I suck at telling stories,' Hank added.

'This is more of an auto-biography than a story. JARVIS has been writing it all up since this morning.'

'Back to the point, maybe?' Bruce said. 'Hank was sobbing and I was awkwardly trying to console him ..'

1997

'Why are you crying, Hank?' Bruce had spent the summer of 1995 studying physiology, and it had said that best way to get something out of them is to use their name.

'It's nothing,' Hank said.

'Which tends to mean the contrary,' Bruce countered. Suddenly, the door burst open. A brown haired girl came running into the room. When she saw Hank, her face softened.

'Where have you been, Hank ? I've been worried sick – you missed English,' she rambled.

'I'm sorry, Jan. I just ...' he couldn't finish the sentence.

'You've been working to hard again, haven't you?' His face said it all. 'God, Hank! You're gonna kill yourself. Can't you see that everyone is worried about you – even this randomer.' She pointed at Bruce.

'Hey!' Bruce cried, who'd just been innocently speculating.

'All you do is work, Hank. You need to take a break,' Jan said with an exasperated sigh.

Hank stood up. He was actually much taller than Bruce. 'But, Jan, I'm on a breakthrough.'

'You're always on a breakthrough,' Jan snapped back. 'You stress yourself out so much that you sob to yourself in the locker rooms!'

'He was sobbing to me, too,' Bruce felt inclined to say.

'Stay out this, Banner,' Jan hissed. Bruce Banner happily took a step back.

'I'm sorry, Jan. But I swear, it's nearly done. Me and you have been working on this for years. And it's nearly done, Jan.'

Janet Van Dyne's face softened. 'Will it work?'

'I'm positive,' Hank said, smiling now.

Bruce was just standing there, confused out of his wits, when a large rumble filled the room.

'You are eating, aren't you, Hank?' Janet said, with raised eyebrows.

'That wasn't me, I swear!' Hank replied. The rumbling happened again, this time plaster from the ceiling fell down upon them. They all exchanged glances. No body said anything, though, they were all thinking it.

_Earthquake._

They all began to rush for the door, when another wave knocked them off their feet. Large cracks in the ground had appeared. Hank lunged for the door. But it wouldn't open! Something was blocking it from the other side! They all tried together – still it would not move.

The building was shaking madly, clumps of plaster and wood were tumbling from the ceiling.

'Get under the benches!' Bruce cried to the two fifth years. They nodded and darted under the nearest one. His heart was hammering in his head. He looked around for shelter. But it was at that moment when the ceiling came caving in on top of him.

He was still conscious.

But he was panicking.

No.

He wasn't.

He was angry.


	6. Chapter 6

Tony Stark, Clint Barton and Natasha Romenhoff all screamed out as their exit became blocked. The room only had one tiny window, but even Natasha couldn't fit through that. And besides, they were on the fifth floor.

'What do we do?' Tony rasped, feeling as if he was undergoing cardiac arrest.

'We have to stay calm,' Natasha said.

'We'll be buried,' Clint cried out. 'This building is going to collapse on us.'

'Clint, we have no other choice than to wait for professional help,' Natasha said.

'How do we even know that that will come,' Tony pointed out. 'I say we work on moving the rubble. We might be able to get through.'

'No, Tony – that debris is the only thing holding the ceiling up,' Natasha said.

'It's gonna fall on us anyway,' Tony yelled. 'Might as well die trying.'

'No, Tony.'

'What other choice do we have, Nat?' Clint said, walking over to Tony's side. 'Tony's right. We have to clear the rubble.'

Natasha sighed, rubbing her head. 'We'll have to make a make-shift support. I doubt it would hold for long, but I guess it's our only way.

'Natasha, you and Clint will clear the debris – I'll make the support,' Tony stated.

'Why you?' Clint said.

'I'm a weapons manufacturer, I think I can make a support,' Tony countered, collecting materials from around the classroom. Natasha and Clint exchanged a look, but began to quickly pull large chunks of rock and plaster aside.

'This was not how I wanted our date to go,' Clint said.

'This was a date? This is a Maths Catch- up class,' Natasha said.

'I thought it be romantic; me, you, Mr Armstronga and Tony.'

'Remind me to never ask you out again.'

Clint laughed. 'I'll try to remember that.'

'If Mr. Armstrong was conscious, this would be so much easier.' Natasha looked across the room to where Mr. Armstrong lay, a beam of wood in a pile on top of him. Tony was taking these for his support.

'Why? Cause he has strong arms?' Clint said, miming a ba-dum-tss on some imaginary drums.

'You joke a lot for a guy trapped in a classroom,' Natasha said. 'Clint ... do you think we're gonna die.'

Clint hesitated, clawing at a large rock in the middle of the pile. 'I don't know how to answer that, Nat.'

Natasha looked down. 'That's what I thought you'd say.'

'We're doing all we can, Nat,' Clint said. 'I just hope it's enough.'

Bruce Banner let out a scream, clenching his fists tightly. He groaned loudly. He was stuck under a pile of debris, his heart racing, his eyes cloudy with blood. He could hear Janet and Hank yelling his name. He let out another scream, grinding his teeth together. He just felt so ... so ... angry. He was panting heavily, but something was happening. His frame was slowly expanding, his muscles exploding a fleshy green lining. He let out a roar.

The Hulk had been unleashed.

Tony Stark heard the Hulk's roar all the way up in the Maths department. It echoed around the whole school. The trio all exchanged looks.

'Did you guys hear that?' Tony said.

Clint and Natasha nodded. 'What do think it was?'

'I dunno. Rescue team, maybe?'

'Doubt it,' Natasha said. 'What rescue team roars to show their presence?

'Rory's Roaring Rescue Round-up?' Clint offered. Tony and Natasha just raised their eyebrows. Natasha said to forget it and get back to their work.

_Stomp, stomp, stomp, roar. Clatter, smash, roar, stomp, stomp._

'Ignore it,' Natasha barked before anyone could ask what it was.

_Stomp, stomp, stomp, roar. Clatter, smash, roar, stomp, stomp._

It seemed to be getting louder, or closer.

'That's some rescue team,' Clint muttered.

'I don't think it's a rescue team,' Tony said glumly. 'How you guys getting dislodging the debris?'

Natasha sighed. 'It's impossible to clear it. It's all wedged in.'

Tony clambered over to them. 'I'll help.'

They all began to tug tirelessly and fruitlessly at the mess.

'We need to find the biggest rock and pull out. Like a dam,' Tony said. Clint and Natasha nodded, they were willing to try anything now.

Hank Pym brushed the dust out of his eyes, sitting up. He must have been knocked out or something as his head was throbbing painfully. Janet Van Dyne lay next to him, her face bloodied and bruised.

'Jan,' he said, shaking her lightly. She mumbled lightly as her eyes flickered open.

'What happened?' She asked, sitting up. 'Where's Banner?'

'There was an Earthquake. I'm not sure where Banner went,' Hank said, pulling himself and Jan up. They trampled through the rubble, calling for Bruce. They sorted through the debris, but there was no sign of him.

'Jan, look at this,' Hank said, beckoning her over. One of the rooms walls had been torn off, or through. Jan and Hank wearily stepped through the make-shift exit. The corridor was in just as bad shape as the changing room.

'We should get out of here,' Hank said.

'But people might be trapped,' Jan pointed out.

'This building is about to collapse, Jan,' Hank snapped, grabbing her wrists.

Jan's eyes narrowed. 'Exactly.'

She pulled out of Hanks grasp and sprinted down the corridor.

'JAN!' Hank yelled, chasing after her. 'Jan, come back!'

Natasha Romenhoff let out a yelp as a cluster of wood and plaster fell down like rain upon them.

'This building isn't gonna hold for much longer,' Natasha cried.

Clint and Tony didn't say anything. Natasha's heart was drumming loudly, a beat she couldn't outrun. Her throat was dry, her eyes full of dust, her bones aching tiredly.

'I don't know how long I can keep doing this,' she admitted.

'C'mon, Nat, we have to,' Clint said, but his face was as lifeless as hers.

'Guys, just stay calm,' Tony barked. It was easier said than done. But pressure was rising as the building was falling. More plaster fell down on top of them.

'HELLO?' A small voice cried from behind the door. 'IS ANYBODY HERE?'

The trio all looked up, eyes wide in disbelief.

'HERE! IN HERE, HELP!' They all screamed. 'HELP! WE'RE IN HERE!'

There was the faint sound of running. 'I can't get the door open!' The voice yelled.

'It's blocked from inside,' Tony said.

'Have you tried dislodging it?' The voice asked.

Tony snorted. 'No, maybe we should try that,' he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

They could all hear the girl outside talking to another boy. Five minutes later, the girl called back to them:

'We got the door open. But theres still debris in the way,' she said.

_Roar, stamp, stamp, smash!_

'What the hell ...'

The girl screamed.

Then it was silent.

The room was immediately thrown into chaos. With freedom so close, but with danger on both sides of the rubble, the trio were unsure what to do.

'Hello?' Clint cried. 'Are you OK?'

There was no reply.

'We have to clear this rubble. With the door opened, we might be able to make a gap small enough for us to squeeze through.'

Tony and Natasha nodded, and, once more, began to clear the rubble. Ten minutes later, a small gap had begun to appear. The group cheered out with glee. They pushed away a few more rocks and their exit was made. They quickly scrambled out. Clint first, then Tony, and finally Natasha. Rubble was continuing to rain from the ceiling.

'Get the girl,' Tony yelled, pointing to the fifth years broken body. She had been slammed into the wall by some unknown force. A boy was next to her, also unconscious.

'We have to get them out of here,' Clint cried, picking the girl up and cradling her in his arms. Tony and Natasha got the boy.

They managed to flee the school, just as it collapsed in on itself.

'Talk about a close call,' Clint said, watching the building turn to dust, exploding in a ball of fire and rock.


	7. Chapter 7

Bruce Banner woke up on a soft and wet floor. His mind was groggy, his eyes cloudy and his body weak. What happened?, he thought to himself. He pulled himself up off the grass, looking around the old park. It was deserted and night was falling. Why am I here?

The last thing he could remember was being at school, then feeling the the most weirdest sensation, almost an illusion. He rubbed his head, groaning loudly. He was covered in dust and grime. This just raised more questions.

Then he realized that he was naked.

Janet Van Dyne woke up in a bed that wasn't her own. First of all, it was far to clean, second; it was in a hospital. Four more beds were beside her. One of them held Hank, the other three were three sixth years that she didn't know. Apart from them, the room was empty. The beeping and buzzing of some machine filled the room. Her mind raised back to the earthquake, it must have been one of the biggest that New York had ever seen. But there was one thing she couldn't get her head around. It was a faint memory, of an ... ogre of some kind, running towards her. She had screamed, then she'd woken up.

She laughed faintly.

'I must have hit my head pretty hard,' she said. At that moment, one of the sixth years woke up. He had brown hair, eyes and a tanned complexion. He looked around, then saw Jan.

'Morning,' he said.

'More like evening,' she said, gesturing to the clock in the far side of the room.

'God knows how many drugs they've got me on,' the boy sighed.

'They've probably just been doing check ups, at worst, surgery,' Jan said. One of the nurses walked into the room.

'Good, you're awake, Mr. Stark. If you wouldn't mind coming with us, we have some things to discuss.'

Tony Stark nodded, and wearily pulled himself out of bed, following the nurse.

One by one, the patients each began to wake up. Each one mumbling their 'Good Mornings'.

'How you feeling,' Jan said to Hank.

'Fine,' he said. 'You?'

'I bit groggy.'

'I wouldn't be surprised, you got knocked out twice,' he said, smiling.

'Before we blacked out -'

'Don't, Jan. We both know what we saw, theres no need to look further into it.'

'What was it, though?'

'How should I know? We saw it then we were flung against the wall as if we were rag dolls.'

Jan sighed, staring down at her lap. 'Did anyone die, Hank?'

Hank looked up at her. 'I know as much as you do, Jan. But I doubt many people survived.'

'Not everyone was trapped, though,' Jan pointed out. 'What about Bruce, Hank. Where did he go? What if he was still under the rubble and we missed him?'

The two sixth years came over.

'I just wanted to thank you two for helping us. We would have died if you hadn't,' the girl said.

'We really owe you,' the boy said.

'Don't mention it,' Hank said. 'You saved our lives, too, remember?'

The girl smiled. 'I'm just glad that you're OK. I'm Natasha, this is Clint.'

'Jan.'

'Hank.'

'Where did Tony go?' Clint asked.

'One of the nurses dragged him off,' Jan said.

'I wonder why,' Natasha said.

'Protocols?' Hank offered. Another of the nurses came in.

'What are you all doing up?' the woman cried. 'Get back to bed!'

The teenagers begrudgingly got back into their beds.

'You're all very sick,' she snapped.

'Beatrice,' another nurse said, a much prettier and softer looking one, 'Don't frighten them. They'll be fine. You were just in a little accident, that's all. You'll be better in no time.'

'Beatrice' didn't seem to think so. She was standing in the middle of the room, glaring at them.

'Now,' the nicer nurse said, 'we just have to run a few more tests.'

Bruce Banner put the days paper down, sighing heavily and resting his head in his hands. The Daily Bugle had been running the same story for nearly a whole week now.

HOW TO MISS SCHOOL – LET AN EARTHQUAKE DESTROY IT.

Bruce had been offended by the headlines; a few of the people he knew had been buried under it. Bruce couldn't help but shake the feeling that he should have been among them.

How did he get out?

That was his big question. He was in the building, then he was passed out in a park. Had somebody pulled him out? Who, though? And why leave him seventeen blocks away when there was probably ambulances circled around the whole building? Apparently Tony, Clint and Natasha had been trapped inside. Bruce didn't know if they were dead or not. He picked the paper back up, then winced loudly as one of the corners sliced through his skin. He dropped it instantly. There was a long slit along his thumb, it was bleeding lightly. He was about to go rinse it under the kitchen tap when he saw it. Skin was forming around the cut. A moment later, the pain and the cut were gone.

Bruce suddenly felt sick.

2013

'So,' Thor said, 'Is that how you found out about the Hulk?'

Bruce shook his head. 'No, I found out a week before we went back to school – which was why I wasn't there.'

'We thought you'd died,' Hank said.

'We all did,' Tony said. 'It was a whole month before you came back.'

'Yeah, sorry about that,' Bruce said, rubbing the back of his neck. 'I was just a bit weary that I'd end up killing everybody. You know?'

The group had to admit that they didn't.

'Yeah, well you don't turn into a giant, green rage monster when you get angry, I doubt you would understand.'

'So, the school was rebuilt and we went back,' Jan said.

'They tried to keep it "normal", but 100 students had been killed in the earthquake ...'

1997

Green Yard Academy had reopened at a smaller location, having been raised to the ground a month earlier. The remaining pupils (100 less than before the quake) had managed to get a months holiday off of this.

Tony, Clint, Natasha, Hank and Jan had all left the hospital three weeks earlier.

They'd tried to keep everything as normal as possible. Same registration classes, same time tables, same teachers.

They had science today, with Mr. Clark.

Clint, Natasha and Tony all sat at their regular seats. Barry was there, too.

'Hey, have you guys seen Banner? He wasn't at Regi this morning,' he said. The trio apologized, saying that they hadn't.

'You don't think ...' Barry said, 'That he was one of the hundred lost?'

The group looked amongst each other, remembering what Hank and Jan had said about them not being able to find Bruce.

'No, of course not,' Natasha said quickly. Clint and Tony exchanged a look; who was she kidding?

Bruce Banner was dead.


	8. Chapter 8

Hello, people. Sorry I haven't been posting in ages. But I was becoming to obsessed with this story and felt like I was becoming the characters (Example, I was paranoid that people would find out that I was the Hulk and experiment on me; I know, that really isn't natural) so I had to step away for a week.

Oh, and Clintasha shippers, this is kinda your day.

Kinda.

Natasha Romenhoff was walking home with Clint, when he turned to her and said:

'I don't think we should date.'

Natasha raised her eyebrows. 'What? Since when did we date?'

'That's the way it's going, isn't it?'

'I don't know, maybe?'

'We both like each other but too much is going on right now. I think we should wait till everything has calmed down a bit.'

2013

'Wait – what?' Tony cried. 'You two dated?'

Natasha and Clint both shook their heads.

'We called it of till everything calmed down. Then we both started working for SHEILD, then the Avengers. So, it never calmed down.'

'I can't believe it. The famous Black Widow and Hawkeye, worlds greatest marksman, have the hots for each other!' Tony laughed.

Natasha drew her fist back and slammed it into Tony's face. Tony fell back from his chair.

'On with the story?' She said innocently.

1997

'Well, I wasn't aware of this part of our relationship. But OK. We won't date,' Natasha said.

'Thank you,' Clint said. After a moments pause, he said, 'Not that I don't want to date you. You're a very beautiful woman. I mean, seriously, the things I would do to you.'

'Clint, please shut up.'

'Sorry.'

They came up to Natasha's front door.

'Well, see you,' She said, when suddenly Clint grabbed her and pulled her into him, kissing her tenderly on the lips. She pulled away almost instantly.

'What the hell, Barton?' she yelled. 'Why'd you do that?'

'I'm sorry, I just -'

'You just tell me we can't date then you _molest _me?'

'I wouldn't really call that molesting.'

'God dammit, Clint,' she snapped.

'Fine! I'm sorry,' he snapped back. Natasha turned on her heels and began walking back to her door. Clint began walking down the street.

'Wait!' he heard Natasha cry. He turned around and Natasha grabbed him, kissing him back.

'Now we're even, OK?' she said, then ran off back to her house.

Clint just stood there, breathless.

'I seriously don't understand women.'

Bruce Banner wasn't as school the next day, or the next. Two weeks later, he still hadn't made an appearance. Tony Stark was beginning to get pissed off.

He'd gone around to Bruce's house many times, but each time Bruce had pretended not to be in.

Tenth time lucky, he thought to himself, knocking on Bruce's door.

This time it did open. But Bruce wasn't the one answering. It was his mum.

'Hey, is Bruce in?' he asked.

'Yes, I'll just get him for you – Bruce! You've got a friend at the door,' she said, stepping away as Bruce appeared behind her. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw Tony.

'What are you doing here,' he asked, stepping outside and shutting the door behind him.

'You've missed nearly three weeks of school!' Tony hissed.

Bruce didn't reply.

'I don't know what's going on in that head of yours – but you need to snap out of it.'

'I'm fine, Tony,' Bruce protested.

'Really?'

'Yes.'

'Prove it. Come into school tomorrow.'

'It's Saturday tomorrow,' Bruce pointed out.

'No it's not. It's Wednesday,' Tony corrected him.

Bruce groaned. 'I'm not coming in. I'm sorry.'

'Why?'

'Because I'll hurt everyone!' Bruce yelled.

Tony took a step back. 'What?'

Bruce felt his face flush. 'Nothing.'

'Why would you hurt anyone?'

'_I _wouldn't,' he hissed.

'Then why can't you come to school?'

Bruce ran a weary hand through his hair. 'I was expelled.'

'No you weren't.'

'I know.'

'Just come in tomorrow, even for a half day,' Tony offered.

'I can't, Tony.'

'I'll sue if you don't.'

Bruce scoffed. 'I don't really threaten anymore.'

Natasha Romenhoff had been avoiding Clint Barton for almost two weeks now. They hadn't spoken or anything. They couldn't even look each other in the eyes without blushing and quickly looking away.

They only had two subjects together – English and Science. But they sat on opposite sides of the classroom for English and they'd already had Science that week. Natasha looked at her timetable. She didn't need to – she had a photographic memory and had memorized it on her first day – but Clint was walking down the hall towards her. As he passed by her, he smiled weakly. She smiled back.

That was probably the longest conversation they'd actually had since they'd kissed.

The bell went and Natasha headed for her Advanced Modern Studies class.


End file.
